Shakespeare's Parents Shakespeare's Parents Shakespeare's father, John, came to Stratford from Snitterfield before 1532 as an apprentice glover and tanner of leathers. John Shakespeare prospered and began to deal in farm products and wool. It is recorded that he bought a house in 1552 (the date that he first appears in the town records), and bought more property in 1556. Because John Shakespeare owned one house on Greenhill Street and two houses on Henley Street, the exact location of William's birth cannot be known for certain. Sometime between 1556 and 1558 John Shakespeare married Mary Arden, the daughter of the wealthy Robert Arden of Wilmecote and owner of the sixty-acre farm called Asbies. The wedding would have most likely taken place in Mary Arden's parish church at Aston Cantlow, the burial place of Robert Arden, and, although there is no evidence of strong piety on either side of the family, it would have been a Catholic service, since Queen Mary I was the reigning monarch.

We assume neither John nor Mary could write -- John used a pair of glovers' compasses as his signature while Mary used a running horse -- but it did not prevent them from becoming important members of the community. John Shakespeare was elected to a multitude of civic positions, including ale-taster of the borough (Stratford had a long-reaching reputation for its brewing) in 1557, chamberlain of the borough in 1561, alderman in 1565, (a position which came with free education for his children at the Stratford Grammar School ), high bailiff, or mayor, in 1568, and chief alderman in 1571. Due to his important civic duties, he rightfully sought the title of gentleman and applied for his coat-of-arms in 1570 (see picture on left). However, for unspecific reasons the application was abruptly withdrawn, and within the next few years, for reasons just as mystifying, John Shakespeare would go from wealthy business owner and dedicated civil servant to debtor and absentee council member. By 1578 he was behind in his taxes and stopped paying the statutory aldermanic subscription for poor relief.

In 1579, he had to mortgage Mary Shakespeare's estate, Asbies, to pay his creditors. In 1580 he was fined 40 pounds for missing a court date and in 1586 the town removed him from the board of aldermen due to lack of attendance. By 1590, John Shakespeare owned only his house on Henley Street and, in 1592 he was fined for not attending church. However, near the very end of John Shakespeare's life, it seems that his social and economic standing was again beginning to flourish. He once again applied to the College of Heralds for a coat-of-arms in 1596, and, due likely to the success of William in London, this time his wish was granted. On October 20 of that year, by permission of the Garter King of Arms (the Queen's aid in such matters) "the said John Shakespeare, Gentlemen, and...his children, issue and posterity" were lawfully entitled to display the gold coat-of-arms, with a black banner bearing a silver spear (a visual representation of the family name "Shakespeare").

The coat-of-arms could then be displayed on their door and all their personal items. The motto was Non sanz droict or not without right. The reason cited for granting the coat-of-arms was John Shakespeare's grandfather's faithful service to Henry VII, but no specifics were given as to what service he actually performed. The coat-of-arms appears on Shakespeare's tomb in Stratford. In 1599 John Shakespeare was reinstated on the town council, but died a short time later, in 1601. He was probably near seventy years old and he had been married for forty-four years. Mary Shakespeare died in 1608 and was buried on September 9. How to cite this article: Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare of Stratford: Shakespeare's Parents. Shakespeare Online. 18 Sept. 2000. < >. References William Shakespeare Biography - life, family, children, story, death, history, school, mother, young, information, born, time William Shakespeare Biography Stratford-upon-Avon, England English dramatist and poet The English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare was a popular dramatist.

He was born six years after Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) ascended the throne, in the height of the English Renaissance. He found in the theater of London a medium just coming into its own and an audience eager to reward talents of the sort he possessed. He is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of English writers and one of the most extraordinary creators in human history. Early life William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. His mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a wealthy landowner from a neighboring village. His father, John, was a maker of gloves and a trader in farm produce. John also held a number of responsible positions in Stratford's government and served as mayor in 1569. Though no personal documents survive from Shakespeare's school years, he probably attended the Stratford grammar school and studied the classics, Latin grammar and literature. It is believed that he had to discontinue his education at about thirteen in order to financially help his father. At eighteen he married Ann Hathaway. They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith.

There are no records of Shakespeare's activities between 1585 and 1592. Some have speculated (guessed) that he was a traveling actor or a country schoolmaster. The earliest surviving mention of his career in London, England, is a jealous attack by Robert Greene, a playwright, which indicates that Shakespeare had already established himself in the capital. It is hard to believe that even Shakespeare could have shown the mastery evident in his plays without several years of apprenticeship (the period of time a person works to learn a skill). Early comedies Three early comedies demonstrate that Shakespeare had learned to fuse conventional characters with convincing representations of the human life he knew. Shakespeare's first play is probably The Comedy of Errors (1590). Most acknowledge it as a brilliant and intricate farce (a humorous piece of work with a story unlikely to happen in real life) involving two sets of identical twins. The plot of his next comedy, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1591) revolves around a faithful girl who educates her fickle (inconsistent) lover. It has romantic woods, a girl dressed as a boy, sudden changes, music, and happy marriages at the end.

The last of the first comedies, Love's Labour's Lost (1593), deals with three young men who attempt to withdraw from the world and women for three years to study in their king's school. They quickly surrender to a group of young ladies who come to live nearby. Early history plays and first tragedy Though little read and performed today, Shakespeare's first plays in the popular history genre (particular style) are equally ambitious and impressive. Henry VI (1592), which is performed in three parts, and Richard III (1594) form an epic (story of heroic figures). They deal with the tumultuous (disorderly, agitating) events of English history between the death of Henry V (1387–1422) in 1422 and Henry VII (1457–1509) assuming the William Shakespeare. AP/Wide World Photos . throne in 1485, which began the period of stability maintained by Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603). Nothing so ambitious as this monumental sequence had ever before been attempted in an English play.

Shakespeare's first tragedy, Titus Andronicus (1593), reveals similar ambition. It is recognized as a brilliant and successful piece in the tradition of the revenge play where someone tries to punish someone for a wrong that was done. Nondramatic works The theaters were closed because of plague (a bacteria-caused disease that spreads quickly and can cause death) during much of 1593 and 1594. At this time Shakespeare wrote two narrative poems for the Earl of Southampton. Both the seriocomic (both happy and sad) Venus and Adonis and the tragic Rape of Lucrece are based on the Renaissance traditions of myth and symbolism. Shakespeare's most famous poems are the 154 sonnets. They were probably composed in this period but were not published until 1609. Sonnets are fourteen-line poems with a fixed rhyme scheme. Though they often suggest autobiographical revelation (the discovery or realization in oneself), the sonnets cannot be proved to be any less fictional than the plays. The Lord Chamberlain's Men In 1594 Shakespeare became principal writer for the successful Lord Chamberlain's Men in London. This was one of the two leading companies of actors.

He also became a regular actor in the company and a partner in the group of artist-managers who ran it. The company performed regularly in unroofed but elaborate theaters that seated up to three thousand people. The actors performed on a huge platform stage equipped with additional levels for performances. The audience sat on three sides or stood on the ground in front of the stage. In 1599 this group had the Globe Theater built on the south bank of the Thames River. Shakespeare produced many plays for the company. They include the comedies The Taming of the Shrew (1594) about the taming of an ill-tempered, scolding woman and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595), in which fairies and magic potions in moonlit woods become entangled with young lovers who escape from a cruel society. These were followed by The Merchant of Venice (1596), Much Ado about Nothing (1598), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1599), and As You Like It (1600).

Shakespeare's tragedies of the period are among his most familiar plays: Romeo and Juliet (1596), Julius Caesar (1599), and Hamlet (1601). Although very different from each other, they share the setting of intense personal tragedy in a large world vividly populated by what seems like the whole range of humanity. Like most of his contemporaries in the theater, Shakespeare used the same techniques in writing comedies as tragedies. Politics are constantly present, and what is best in the protagonist (hero) is what does him in when he finds himself in conflict with the world. Shakespeare, continuing his interest in the historical play, wrote King John (1596). Despite its one strong character it is a relatively weak play. His other epics range from Richard II (1595), through the two parts of Henry IV (1597), to Henry V (1599). These four plays pose disturbing questions about politics, particularly the difference between the man capable of ruling and the man worthy of doing so. They are not optimistic about man as a political animal.

The "problem plays" Several plays produced at the end of Elizabeth's reign are often grouped as Shakespeare's "problem plays." They are not easily categorized as either tragedies or comedies. All's Well That Ends Well (1602) is a romantic comedy with qualities that seem bitter to many critics because it presents romantic relations between men and women in a harsh light. Troilus and Cressida (1602), is a brilliant, sardonic (skeptically humorous), and disillusioned piece on the Trojan War. Measure for Measure (1604) focuses on the link between political power and romantic desire. King's Men and the late tragedies Upon ascending to the throne in 1603, King James I (1566–1625) bestowed his patronage upon the Lord Chamberlain's Men, so that the flag of the King's Men now flew over the Globe. During his last decade in the theater Shakespeare was to write fewer but perhaps even finer plays. Almost all the greatest tragedies belong to this period, and they share several qualities.

The heroes are dominated by passions that make their moral (having to do with right and wrong) status increasingly ambiguous (not clearly one thing or another) and their freedom increasingly constricted. In the end, what destroys the hero is what is best about him. Like the histories, the late tragedies continue to be felt as intensely relevant to the concerns of modern men. Othello (1604) is concerned with trust and betrayal. In King Lear (1605) an aged king foolishly deprives his only loving daughter of her heritage in order to leave everything to her hypocritical (only pretending to have morals) and vicious sisters. Macbeth (1606) concentrates on the problems of evil and freedom. It mingles the supernatural with history, and makes a sympathetic hero of a murderer who sins against family and state. Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus (both written in 1607 and 1608) embody Shakespeare's bitterest images of political life. Antony and Cleopatra sets the temptation of romantic desire against the call to Roman duty. Coriolanus pits a protagonist (hero) who cannot live with hypocrisy (pretending to believe in something) against a society built on it.

Both of these tragedies present ancient history with a vividness (intensity) that makes it seem contemporary. The romances A final group of plays takes a turn in a new direction. Pericles (1607), Cymbeline (1609), The Winter's Tale (1611), and The Tempest (1611) have a unique power to move and are in the realm of the highest art. The Tempest is the most popular and perhaps the finest of the group. In it Prospero and his daughter are shipwrecked on an island inhabited by supernatural creatures. Prospero rules the island with magic, but renounces (gives up) magic at the end. After the composition of The Tempest Shakespeare retired to Stratford. He returned to London to compose Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen in 1613. Neither seems to have fired his imagination. He died in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1616, at the age of fifty-two. Shakespeare's work has continued to seem to each generation like its own most precious discovery.

His value to his own age is suggested by the fact that two fellow actors performed the virtually unprecedented (never done before) act in 1623 of gathering his plays together and publishing them in the Folio edition. Without their efforts, since Shakespeare was apparently not interested in publication, many of the plays would not have survived. For More Information Bentley, Gerald E. Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1961. Reprint, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1986. Chambers, Sir Edmund K. William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1930. Reprint, New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. De Grazia, Margreta, and Stanley Wells, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Gollob, Herman. Me and Shakespeare: Adventure with the Bard. New York: Doubleday, 2002. Schoenbaum, S. William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life. Rev. ed.

New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. Southworth, John. Shakespeare, The Player: A Life in the Theatre. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton, 2000. User Contributions: Shakespeare's family :: Life and Times :: Internet Shakespeare Editions Internet Shakespeare Editions As this illustration suggests, children in the Renaissance were considered young adults. From the Roxburghe Ballads. University of Victoria Library. John Shakespeare Although there are no other records about the young Shakespeare during this period, there is a fair amount of information about his father, a glove-maker who also held a number of public offices over a twenty year period, ranging from borough ale-taster to alderman to bailiff, the highest public office in Stratford. Stratford was a market center for the county of Warwickshire in the rural heartland of England. From about 1577, when William was 13, John Shakespeare suffered financial loss* and ceased to play a part in local government. His situation improved* from 1596 until his death in 1601.

Mary Shakespeare (nee Arden) Shakespeare's mother was born Mary Arden, the daughter of a well-to-do landowner in a lesser branch of an aristocratic family. (The family gave its name to the nearby Forest of Arden, which is the setting of Shakespeare's As You Like It.) It is typical of the period that, though many references to John Shakespeare's activities survive, only the date of Mary Shakespeare's burial (9 September 1608) was recorded. Shakespeare's brothers and sisters Joan, born 1558, died before 1569. Margaret, born 1562, died 1563 (aged 5 months). (William, born 1564, died 1616.) Gilbert, born 1566, haberdasher, died 1612. (A haberdasher sells hats, clothes, thread, ribbons etc.) Joan* , born 1569, married William Hart, died 1646. Anne, born 1571, died 1579. Richard, born 1574, occupation unknown, died 1613.

Edmund,* born 1580, "player," died 1607. Footnotes Financial difficulties In 1575 John Shakespeare was wealthy enough to buy two houses, but in 1577 he stopped attending council meetings, though he was an alderman. The following year he mortgaged a property of his wife's and sold her share in another. Later, he faced various fines and lost his aldermanic seat. In 1592 he was listed among those who failed to attend church, "for feare of process for debtte." William to the the rescue? In 1596 John Shakespeare applied for, and was granted, a coat of arms , which would then make him and his family members of the gentry; in 1597 William bought the splendid house New Place on the main street of Stratford. It seems likely that William's undoubted success as shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men (his company of actors) allowed him to restore his father's fortunes. Joan Shakespeare's inheritance William left his younger sister: "All my wearing Apparell. . .

and the house with th'appurtenances in Stratford wherein she dwelleth." Edmund's burial Four months after his son's death in 1607, Edmund Shakespeare was buried in Southwark, near the Globe theatre . Of his life and death, David J. Kathman writes: Edmund Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1580. The next mention of him which survives is the baptism of his son Edward at St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, on July 12, 1607; however, this son was buried at St. Giles' Cripplegate exactly a month later, on August 12, 1607. The burial record indicates that the infant was "base borne." The baptismal record indicates that Edmund and/or his son came from "morefilds," e.g. Moorfields, the location of the Curtain theater, where Queen Anne's Company was acting in 1607. However, the burial in St. Giles Cripplegate points to the Fortune theater and Prince Henry's Men. Edmund may have acted with one of these companies, or he could have been a hired man who played for both.

Then again, it is also possible that he played with neither. Edmund himself followed his son to the grave a scant four and a half months later and was buried in St. Saviour's Southwark, the parish of the Globe theater, on December 31, 1607. This was probably due to the influence of his brother William, a possibility which is strengthened by the fact that Edmund was buried in the church (as opposed to the churchyard) and his funeral featured a forenoon knell of the great bell (as opposed to the lesser bell). Edmund's funeral cost 20 shillings, whereas burial in the churchyard with a knell of the lesser bell only cost 3 shillings, the difference doubtless being paid by William. (Shaksper listserv, May 1998) The Parents of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare Biography - The Parents of William Shakespeare JOHN SHAKESPEARE ( FATHER ) - THE EARLY YEARS John Shakespeare was born in 1531. His father, Richard Shakespeare, was a tenant farmer who worked on various sections of land, one of which was owned by the wealthy Robert Arden of Wilmecote.

John worked as a farmer with his father but in 1551 he moved to Stratford to set up business trading in wool, malt and corn. His businesses tied in well with his father with his father producing the goods and John trading in the retail side. John was skilled in both leatherworking and the curing and processing of fine leather to make ladies gloves and purses for the nobility and traded as a Glover and Whittawer. He bought a house in Henley Street, Stratford , which was conveniently near the market. It was probable that a shop was attached as this, as was the usual practice. He also started in the dubious business of money lending. He obviously started to do very well with all of his various interests as he then purchased another house in Greenhill Street, Stratford in 1552, five years before he married Mary. MARY ARDEN ( MOTHER )- THE EARLY YEARS Mary Arden was born in 1540 as a member of the noble Catholic family of the Ardens of Park Hall whose family forebears had been given land by William the Conqueror.

The Ardens were one of Warwickshire's most prominent families, tracing its ancestry back beyond the Norman Conquest to the Doomsday Book. Mary was the favourite of eight daughters of the widowed Robert Arden. His second marriage in April 1548 to Agnes Hill, a widow of another prosperous farmer, added four stepchildren to his own family. The family home was called Glebe Farm a two-storey Wilmecote farmstead. Mary was sixteen when her father died and she was named as one of the Executers of her father's will in which he left her some money and some land in Wilmecote. THE COURTSHIP OF MARY ARDEN AND JOHN SHAKESPEARE (the Bard's Parents ) The courtship between Mary Arden ( his mother ) and John Shakespeare ( his father ) can be pieced together. John's father, Richard, was a tenant farmer who lived in Snitterfield and worked, and grazed his animals, on various sections of land. Some of this land was known to belong to Mary's father, the wealthy Robert Arden of Wilmecote.

John initially started work as a farmer with his father before making the move to Stratford to pursue the retail side of the business. Mary and John, the Bard's parents, would have therefore had various opportunities to meet and start their courtship. Their courtship would not have been without problems as John was only of Yeoman stock and Mary was part of the aristocracy. It is extremely doubtful that Mary's father would have approved of such a liaison. Robert Arden died in 1556 and convention decreed that any marriage in the Arden family could take only place after the mourning period of one year. So it was that Mary Arden, the heiress, and John Shakespeare, the Yeoman, married in 1557 to become the Bard's Mother and Father. THE MARRIAGE OF SHAKESPEARES PARENTS The marriage between Mary Arden and John Shakespeare in 1557 must certainly raised a few eyebrows! John was of Yeoman stock and Mary was a member of the aristocratic Arden family. The major thing that the Bard's Mother and Father had in common was that both the Shakespeare's and the Ardens were staunch Catholics.

This was extremely important as England, at the time, was fiercely Protestant and Catholics were viewed with real suspicion and often sheer hatred. John was clearly a very ambitious man and this is demonstrated not only by his choice of wife but also by his incredible rise in the community as a prominent citizen of Stratford. The reason that his rise to prominence was so amazing was that John Shakespeare ( father of the Bard ) was totally illiterate, he used glovers compasses as his signature. Mary ( mother of the Bard ) was no help to him in this quarter as she was also unable to read or write and used a running horse as her signature. John and Mary married at the ages of 26 and 17 respectively, a year after the death of Robert Arden. So John married a wealthy young lady giving the Shakespeare's a good start to married life and their role as parents. HENLEY STREET, STRATFORD - HOME TO SHAKESPEARE'S PARENTS After their marriage, in 1557, Mary moved from the country to live in John's house in Henley Street - this became home to the mother and father of the Bard.

The village of Stratford had a population of 1500 people, and only 200 houses at this time. In the same year he purchased the neighbouring house and garden as well. John was a real entrepreneur and had expanded his business into trading in wool and other farm produce and the dubious, but lucrative, business of money lending. The Shakespeare's were clearly an ambitious couple and John had the clear advantage of marrying into the aristocracy which would, no doubt , have impressed the men who ran the Town Council of Stratford. JOHN SHAKESPEARE - ALE-TASTER OF THE BOROUGH OF STRATFORD John ( father of the Bard ) was making himself noticed and the same year of his marriage in 1557 was given his first public appointment as ale-taster of the Borough of Stratford. This might sound strange to us but in the Elizabethan era basic hygiene was practically unknown. People washed infrequently, men urinated in the living room and most houses had a refuse heap outside their front doors. The water was dangerous to drink at the best of times, so ale or wine depending on your class, was the safest option.

The position of ale-taster was an important one and it was essential that Stratford maintained a long-reaching reputation for its brewing. THE FAMILY MAN & THE CIVIC DIGNITARY John and Mary ( mother and father of the Bard ) started their family in 1558 with the birth of their first child, Joan. Their happiness was short-lived as the baby died of the plague shortly after birth. The plague, commonly referred to as the Black Death, was rampant in England. The plague was often transmitted by the fleas that lived on animals. So farmers and the retailers of farm produce, such as animal hides, were in constant danger of contracting the Black Death. The disease could also be air bound and transmitted from an infected person's breath. So the virulent nature of the disease resulted in frequent outbreaks of the terrible disease for the next hundred years. People must have lived in constant fear for the lives of their children and most families had many children due to the high infant mortality rate - a terrible fear for the parents. Meanwhile John's rise in the Civic world continued and he was elected as Chamberlain of the Borough of Stratford in 1661.The Town Council met daily, and had many important tasks.

They heard petitions, made sure the streets were kept clear, and insured that weights and measures were accurate. Mary became pregnant again and gave birth in 1562 to a second daughter, Margaret. Once again family life for the new parents was shattered as Margaret only lived for one year. A year later William Shakespeare was born on St Georges Day (the Patron Saint of England) 23rd April 1564. This birthday is not substantiated as there was no Birth Certificate or registration during that period of English history. There is, however, a record of William's baptism in the register of the Holy Trinity Parish Church in Stratford dated 26th April 1564. Given the high mortality rate of infants it was the custom of the Elizabethan parents to have their children baptised three days after their birth and so the birthday of William has been set as April 23rd. In 1665 John became an Alderman of Stratford and with this position came the benefit of free education for his children at the local Grammar School. This was good timing as the family started to expand with the birth of Gilbert in October 1566.

John's career was still rising and in 1568 he became the Mayor of Stratford. The joy of the Shakespeare's must have been great when Mary gave birth to another daughter, also called Joan, in 1569 and they became parents once more. In 1570 John became Chief Alderman of Stratford - the pinnacle of his career. Due to his important Civic duties he rightfully sought the title of gentleman and applied for his Coat-of-Arms. The right to a Coat-of-Arms was very prestigious and sought after by many people. The coat-of-arms could be displayed on their door and all their personal items. It was also quite a costly undertaking with an amount of 30 guineas (�30 pounds and 30 shillings) to be paid to the College of Heralds. Mysteriously, the application was unsuccessful. Two more children were born to the parents of the Bard, Anne in 1571 and Richard in 1574. THE FALL OF JOHN By 1578 things had started to go seriously wrong for Shakespeare's parents. The boys were removed from school in order to help with the finances as John was behind with the taxes.

Another tragedy struck the family in 1579 when eight year old Anne died. This must have been a terrible time for Mary and John as parents and despite their mounting financial problems their young daughter Anne was provided with an expensive funeral by the Bard's mother and father. Things went from bad to worse for Will's parents and in the same year as Anne's premature death his father was forced to mortgage his mother's estate, Asbies. Despite the mortgaging of property their money problems continued and in 1580 John was fined �40 for missing a court date. POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE DEMISE OF HIS FATHER There is no real evidence of the events which lead to John's downfall and how he descended from being a pillar of the community, and wealthy businessman, to a debtor whose only possession was a house on Henley Street. There are however a few possibilities that could be considered. His father was extremely ambitious and his swift rise to power within the Stratford community could have lead to jealousy. His dubious money lending activities could also have sparked some real bad feeling. And finally religion. His parents were staunch Roman Catholics during the time that most of his peers would have been of the new and equally fanatical Protestant religion.

Queen Elizabeth was a Protestant, this religion and the break from Rome and the old Catholic faith was instigated by her parents Queen Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. Whilst Elizabeth adopted a liberal attitude towards religion she was in constant fear of uprisings and the possibility of Civil War. This real danger came from the supporters of the Roman Catholic faith. Englishmen remembered, with horror, the rule of her Elizabeth's sister forever known as Bloody Mary for her cruel persecution of non Catholics. This legacy of Bloody Mary and the constant threat to England from the Catholic France and Spain gave rise to hostile feelings towards any Catholics. Perhaps this was the reason that the Bard's father's application for the Coat of Arms back in 1570 was refused. Perhaps this was the major reason that led to his downfall. THE FAMILY EXPANDS, BUT BAD FORTUNE CONTINUES FOR THE PARENTS His wife Mary stood beside John through all of his troubles and in 1580 their last child, Edmund, was born.

Life carried on with John and his sons working in the family business and then in 1582 another blow was dealt to the parents when their 18 year old son, William Shakespeare, came home with the news that 26 year old Anne Hathaway was three months pregnant. The scandal to the family and his mother and father caused by the conception of a child, by a much older woman, outside marriage must have caused immense gossip in the community and would have blackened the family name still further. The marriage between Will and Anne Hathaway must have been hastily arranged and a special licence had to be sought and issued by the Bishop of Worcester - a nightmare for his parents. The banns were only read once, instead of the conventional three times and William and Anne were married in November 1582. Due to the necessity of the swift marriage it can be assumed that William and Anne had no option but to move in with the Bard's parents. Six months after the marriage, in May 1583, John and Mary became grandparents to Susanna Shakespeare. William probably helped with his father's businesses during this time and possibly also took work as a teacher and perhaps even worked with a lawyer.

William's twins Hamnet and Judith were born two years later in 1585 but despite the arrival of more children, fortune continued to go badly with William. There are indications that William might have offended Sir Richard Lucy by poaching a deer on his grounds. What with this and what with the general misfortunes of the family it was about this time that William left Stratford to seek his fortune in London. His parents struggled on but in 1586 John was finally removed from the Board of Aldermen. In 1592 he was fined for not attending church, was this perhaps the Protestant Church? THE RISE OF JOHN Things could not have been much worse for John and Mary ( mother and father of the Bard ). It was 1592, his parents were in debt and John had been stripped of all Civic duties. But this was all about to completely change. Their errant son William had started to become a success as a poet and was also making his name in Theatres of London. By 1592 William was mixing with the elite. The aristocrats and nobles of the Realm were his friends. In 1594 he would even play before the Queen.

And John's fortunes were also rising. On October 20, 1596 by permission of the Garter King of Arms, John Shakespeare, and his children, were granted permission to display a coat-of-arms. His mother and father had achieved a long ambition. The coat-of-arms was gold with a black banner bearing a silver spear. The motto was "Non sans droit" or "not without right". John and his sons were then entitled to put "gentleman" after their name, they were officially part the Gentry. This title was reserved for those who were below knights but who had been granted the right to bear arms. The coat-of-arms could be displayed on their door and all their personal items. It is probable the application was initiated by William who , like his father, was ambitious to rise in the Elizabethan social order. By 1599 his father was reinstated on the Stratford Town Council. His father had regained his social standing, bore a Coat-of-Arms, was a member of the Gentry and he had regained his former wealth. The interpretation of the description of the Coat of Arms granted to Shakspere would have been the choice of the designer chosen by the family.

It does not appear with the crest on the Shakespeare monument in Stratford church, nor does it appear anywhere else. The crest design would have not formed part of the Heraldic Documentation. As such an original crest is not in existence there are various interpretations of the Shakespeare Coat of Arms. The image below is an interpretation of the description of the Coat of Arms designed by william-shakespeare.info. John Shakespeare enjoyed his new status until 1601 when John, the father of the great Bard, died at the age of 70. His loyal wife Mary, the mother of the great Bard lived for a further seven years until her death in 1608.

TIMELINE - JOHN AND MARY SHAKESPEARE THE BARD'S PARENTS 1531 Probable year of birth of Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare 1540 Probable year of birth of Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden 1556 Robert Arden dies (Shakespeare's maternal grandfather.) 1556 Mary Arden ( mother of the Bard ) was named as one of the Executers of her father's will 1557 Marriage of John ( father of the Bard ) at the age of 26 to Mary Arden, aged 17 years 1557 John Shakespeare ( father of the Bard ) was elected as ale-taster of the Borough of Stratford 1561 Richard Shakespeare dies (Shakespeare's paternal grandfather) 1558 Joan, the first child of John and Mary ( mother and father of the Bard ) was born but only survived for two months 1561 John Shakespeare ( father of the Bard ) was elected as Chamberlain of the Borough of Stratford 1562 Margaret Shakespeare was born - she died one year later 1564 William Shakespeare was born 1565 John Shakespeare ( father

 of the Bard ) became Alderman 1566 Gilbert Shakespeare was born 1568 John Shakespeare ( father of the Bard ) became Bailiff of Stratford (equivalent to Mayor) 1569 Another daughter, also called Joan was born 1570 John Shakespeare became Chief Alderman 1570 John Shakespeare ( father of the Bard ) was accused in the Exchequer Court of Usury for lending money at the rate of 20% and 25% Interest 1570 John Shakespeare's application to bear a Coat-of-Arms and for the title of Gentleman fails 1571 Anne Shakespeare was born 1574 Richard Shakespeare was born 1578 John ( father of the Bard ) became behind with his taxes 1579 He was forced to mortgage Mary's estate, Asbies 1579 Anne Shakespeare died 1580 Fined �40 for missing a court date 1580 Edmund Shakespeare was born 1582 William marries Anne Hathaway and six months later John and Mary, his parents, become grandparents to Susanna Shakespeare 1585 William's twins, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare,

 were born 1586 John Shakespeare ( father of the Bard ) was removed from the Board of Aldermen 1590 John Shakespeare's ( father of the Bard ) only possession was a house on Henley Street 1592 John Shakespeare's ( father of the Bard ) fined for not attending church 1596 John's ( father of the Bard ) brother Henry died 1596 On October 20 an application was made to the College of Heralds for a Coat-of-Arms and this time it was granted 1599 John Shakespeare ( father of the Bard ) was reinstated on the Town Council 1601 Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare dies 1608 Shakespeare's mother Mary Shakespeare nee Arden dies WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S SIBLINGS Full details relating to the lives of brothers and sisters of William Shakespeare and can be found in the next section of william-shakespeare.info William Shakespeare - Biography - IMDb William Shakespeare Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (31) | Personal Quotes (1) Overview (3) The Bard Mini Bio (1) William Shakespeare's birthdate

 is assumed from his baptism on April 25.

His father John was the son of a farmer who became a successful tradesman; his mother Mary Arden was gentry. He studied Latin works at Stratford Grammar School, leaving at about age 15. About this time his father suffered an unknown financial setback, though the family home remained in his possession. An affair with Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior and a nearby farmer's daughter, led to pregnancy and a hasty marriage late in 1582. Susanna was born in May of 1583, twins Hamnet and Judith in January of 1585. By 1592 he was an established actor and playwright in London though his "career path" afterward (fugitive? butcher? soldier? actor?) is highly debated. When plague closed the London theatres for two years he apparently toured; he also wrote two long poems, "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece". He may have spent this time at the estate of the Earl of Southampton. By December 1594 he was back in London as a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the company he stayed with the rest of his life.

In 1596 he seems to have purchased a coat of arms for his father; the same year Hamnet died at age 11. The following year he purchased the grand Stratford mansion New Place. A 1598 edition of "Love's Labors" was the first to bear his name, though he was already recognized as England's greatest playwright. He is believed to have written his "Sonnets" during the 1590s. In 1599 he became a partner in the new Globe Theatre, the company of which joined the royal household on the accession of James in 1603. That is the last year in which he appeared in a cast list. He seems to have retired to Stratford in 1612, where he continued to be active in real estate investment. The cause of his death is unknown.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> Spouse (1) ( 27 November 1582 - 23 April 1616) (his death) (3 children) Trivia (31) In 1994, Charles Hamilton, a noted handwriting authority, published his edition of Shakespeare and John Fletcher 's long-lost play, "Cardenio", which he believed had been masquerading as "The Second Maiden's Tragedy", an unattributed play of the time, apparently the sequel to a Fletcher collaboration with Francis Beaumont. Because the names had been altered, Hamilton's identification of the play with Cardenio has been controversial, but has not been refuted. Hamilton believed it to be in the same hand as Shakespeare's will, which he determined to match known examples of Shakespeare's handwriting, rather than having been written by a scribe. Hamilton died in 1996. William Beeston, son of Shakespeare's friend actor Charles Beeston, described him as "a handsome, well-shap't man." Family records 1564-1616 show 44 surname spellings.

In 1964, was the first person other than royalty to be portrayed on a British stamp. In Manor Park, East London, there are streets that are named after him and his wife, Anne Hathaway: Shakespeare Crescent and Hathaway Crescent. Pictured on a 5¢ US postage stamp issued to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his birth, 14 August 1964. There are no living decendants from him. His family line ended in 1670 with the death of his granddaughter Elizabeth Hall Nash Barnard, who bore no children. Two daughters and one son with Anne Hathaway: Susanna, Judith and Hamnet (twins). "A great poet, a considerable philosopher, but, by modern standards, quite a poor playwright" - as described by Tom Conti in The Times of London, 26 February, 2003. A number of his works have been adapted for other cultures. There exists a Zulu version of "Macbeth", and a Japanese Kabuki version of "Hamlet". He is listed in the Guinness Book of World records as having the most number of screen adaptations by a single author. The record for adaptations by a living author goes to Stephen King .

It is speculated by some that Shakespeare was inspired to write "Hamlet" after the untimely death of his own son, Hamnet. The date of Shakespeare's death is April 23, 1616, only because Britain had not yet revised the calendar in accordance with the rest of Europe, which meant that the British calendar was ten days behind. If the calendar had been revised at that time, the date of his death would be May 3, 1616 (unlike Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra , Shakespeare's contemporary, who actually did pass away on April 23, 1616). Shakespeare stood as godfather to the future Poet Laureate of England, William D'Avenant (1606-1668), and D'Avenant would later claim that that Shakespeare was his father in more than just God. Invented many names that were popularized by his plays and entered common use. These names include: Miranda, Jessica, Ophelia, Audrey and Viola.

His comedic play, "Twelfth Night" performed at the Donmar Warehouse, was awarded the 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Revival of 2002. His play "Macbeth" is considered by many professional actors to be cursed. Productions are often plagued by bad luck. The most superstitious of actors believe that the mere mention of the play's name is enough to cause disaster. To avoid this, they refuse to mention the play by name, calling it "The Scottish Play" instead. Laurence Olivier called his writings "the nearest thing in incarnation to the eye of God." In 1964, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, there were at least four notable productions of "Hamlet" alone - the Richard Burton Broadway production, the Christopher Plummer made-for-TV film, the celebrated Russian-language film version (seldom seen in the U.S.), and Joseph Papp 's Shakespeare Festival production, which was taped for TV. Was the subject of a comic routine by Richard Buckley (aka Lord Buckley), where he was referred to as "Willie the Shake". His father was a maker of gloves.

Portrayed by Reginald Gardiner in The Story of Mankind (1957). "The Comedy of Errors" - only one of Shakespeare's many plays in which he mentions "America" (Act III/Scene 2). Shakespeare willed his "second-best bed" to his wife, Anne Hathaway. Many scholars took that to be an insult, but this interpretation is incorrect. In 17th-century England, a home's best bed was reserved for guests; a husband and wife slept in the second-best one. Shakespeare's gesture was a sentimental reminder of the love he bore his wife. His play Romeo & Juliet borrows many plot elements from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. Both are the children of feuding families. Pyramus, like Romeo, is led to believe that she has died, and stabs himself to be with her. Thisbe then follows suit. Romeo & Juliet was later a partial inspiration for the play Cyrano de Bergerac. Both begin with a duel, and feature an iconic balcony scene.

When Cyrano insults his own nose, he ends with "And finally, parodying Pyramus's cries, 'Behold the nose that destroyed the beauty of it's master features. It reddens with shame, the traitor!'". The first patron of Shakespeare's company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, was Henry Carey, the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII . The most successful American revival of one of his plays was Othello, which started in 1943 and ran for 296 performances until 1946. It starred Paul Robeson as Othello, José Ferrer as Iago, and Uta Hagen as Desdemona. Inspired the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). His play, "The Tempest," at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California was awarded the 1979 Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Production. His play, "The Tempest" at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago, Illinois was awarded the 2016 Joseph Jefferson (Equity) Award for Large Play Production.

Several pop songs reference him and his work, including "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits , "Shakespeare's Sister" by The Smiths and "Shakespeare in Love" by Layla Kaylif . The British progressive rock band Twelfth Night named themselves after his famous play. Personal Quotes (1)

Question: Who was William Shakespeare's mother
Answer: Mary Arden